Hi guys, I'm a 3rd year uni student and I'm researching in to gap years, I've never taken one myself but would love to hear stories if anyone has ever been on one and been mistreated/mislead or if a gap year company hasn't done what it said, this is for my final dissertation so any help would be appreciated

(Original post by carla)
Hi guys, I'm a 3rd year uni student and I'm researching in to gap years, I've never taken one myself but would love to hear stories if anyone has ever been on one and been mistreated/mislead or if a gap year company hasn't done what it said, this is for my final dissertation so any help would be appreciated

i took a gap year, during the 2008 recession only job i could find was a nightshift i then learnt the value of the pound and began my own company now im attending university and sold the company and bought the house outright .

(Original post by carla)
is there a reason you think this? have you had a bad experience with a gap year company?

Its well known and understood - paying a company to organise charity work for you is something rich (or stupid) lazy kids do because they aren't capable or brave enough to organise it themselves. Gap year companies take advantage of this by charging them for the privilege of working for a charity which, had the kid contacted them seperately, would have given them food + board for free!

(Original post by HistoryRepeating)
Its well known and understood - paying a company to organise charity work for you is something rich (or stupid) lazy kids do because they aren't capable or brave enough to organise it themselves. Gap year companies take advantage of this by charging them for the privilege of working for a charity which, had the kid contacted them seperately, would have given them food + board for free!

PS: its funny that someone negged you for this (wasn't me!).

Haha yeah i know what you mean but I'm a journalist in training and just wanted someone's story, I completely agree with what your saying, but it's dissertation time and figured if anything had anything good to say, or a company to slate, they would lol!

(Original post by HistoryRepeating)
Its well known and understood - paying a company to organise charity work for you is something rich (or stupid) lazy kids do because they aren't capable or brave enough to organise it themselves. Gap year companies take advantage of this by charging them for the privilege of working for a charity which, had the kid contacted them seperately, would have given them food + board for free!

PS: its funny that someone negged you for this (wasn't me!).

It's the sensible thing to do. Anyone who flies out to a foreign country by themselves and goes to a village in search of the volunteer's dream holiday with a whole bunch of cash has a deathwish.

(Original post by UniversityLAD)
It's the sensible thing to do. Anyone who flies out to a foreign country by themselves and goes to a village in search of the volunteer's dream holiday with a whole bunch of cash has a deathwish.

Only if you are dumb. I backpacked/hitchhiked from Istanbul to Tel Aviv, then volunteered in Palestine and was absolutely fine, no scary moments to speak of.

Does any one else have any examples of when a gap year company has ripped people off? I am looking at this gap year company and they have alot of negative stories on the home page about companies that is making me think twice. Any help would be great.

(Original post by Jonowilkins)
Does any one else have any examples of when a gap year company has ripped people off? I am looking at this gap year company and they have alot of negative stories on the home page about companies that is making me think twice. Any help would be great.

The two I have heard stories about from friends (not just on the internet) are Real Gap and I-to-I. The Real Gap trip was a two month trip to Thailand (tours in Bangkok/Northern Thailand, volunteering in a hill tribe) while the I-to-I one was longer, 6 months volunteering an elephant sanctuary in Sri Lanka. Both my friends met other people volunteering there who had gone direct or the company above the direct contact (Real Gap and I-to-I are more like 2/3 links up the chain) and were paying a LOT less, if anything. My friend who went to Sri Lanka with I-to-I complained with the other I-to-I people there when they got back and about a year later received a cheque for £700 from them. The price they all paid with i-to-i was around £2000, minus flights.

(Original post by gemini89)
The two I have heard stories about from friends (not just on the internet) are Real Gap and I-to-I. The Real Gap trip was a two month trip to Thailand (tours in Bangkok/Northern Thailand, volunteering in a hill tribe) while the I-to-I one was longer, 6 months volunteering an elephant sanctuary in Sri Lanka. Both my friends met other people volunteering there who had gone direct or the company above the direct contact (Real Gap and I-to-I are more like 2/3 links up the chain) and were paying a LOT less, if anything. My friend who went to Sri Lanka with I-to-I complained with the other I-to-I people there when they got back and about a year later received a cheque for £700 from them. The price they all paid with i-to-i was around £2000, minus flights.

is there any chance at all either of your friends would talk to me? i just need a brief statement about how it went wrong, could you please pass on my email [email protected] i would really appreciate the help

(Original post by gemini89)
The two I have heard stories about from friends (not just on the internet) are Real Gap and I-to-I. The Real Gap trip was a two month trip to Thailand (tours in Bangkok/Northern Thailand, volunteering in a hill tribe) while the I-to-I one was longer, 6 months volunteering an elephant sanctuary in Sri Lanka. Both my friends met other people volunteering there who had gone direct or the company above the direct contact (Real Gap and I-to-I are more like 2/3 links up the chain) and were paying a LOT less, if anything. My friend who went to Sri Lanka with I-to-I complained with the other I-to-I people there when they got back and about a year later received a cheque for £700 from them. The price they all paid with i-to-i was around £2000, minus flights.

Did the person who went to Thailand enjoy his time? I am thinking of going on a gap year to Thailand?

(Original post by Tony_Soprano1)
i took a gap year, during the 2008 recession only job i could find was a nightshift i then learnt the value of the pound and began my own company now im attending university and sold the company and bought the house outright .

It's a stupid concept huh, you'd be amazed how many people do it though.

OP, this sums up my position:

(Original post by Ewan)
You see you've outlined something very important in this post. "Happy Gringo" employs local workers to create a adventure package for people such as yourself, which of course they will make a profit on. They will then offer this package to "Adventure Heart" who will again take a profit for doing nothing by then selling it on to "Real Gap" at a higher price, who coincidentally will also take a large profit by selling it on to you at an even higher price.

Great value This is always the case with travel companies. I've met people in Thailand before on similar trips. The big western company A employs a smaller company B in Bangkok who will then employ even smaller local companies C in the different places you're travelling. What you could of done is just gone to this place and employed company C yourself thereby bypassing companies A & B & saving you their expenses in cost.